


Choosing Trust

by Merfilly



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Gen, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-14
Updated: 2014-08-14
Packaged: 2018-02-13 04:42:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,201
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2137362
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Merfilly/pseuds/Merfilly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Natalie needed to be in the area, so Pepper uses her as a technician and delivery girl. Rhodey still isn't sure what to make of her, but Tony trusts her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Choosing Trust

**Author's Note:**

  * For [suckitdomitian](https://archiveofourown.org/users/suckitdomitian/gifts).



> Set vaguely after CA:tWS, non-specific time.

The woman walked in with a sense of confidence that had Rhodey preparing for a fight, but she just came and laid a briefcase down and started opening it in as professional a manner as possible.

"Pepper sent me with upgrades."

"She texted," Rhodey said in a guarded tone. The woman looked up at him, swinging her red hair out of her way.

"Tony said your password still sucks," she added, a hint of a smile in her eyes. That was such an unorthodox way to verify who she was that Rhodey had to laugh.

"So you really are the Black Widow," he commented.

"Just call me Natalie while I'm here on Stark's time," the woman responded. "Tony ran down how to install the new tech, and said, I quote, 'tell Rhodey not to bang this one up so fast'."

"If he had told me the specifications on the last piece," Rhodey began hotly.

"— you wouldn't have tackled the Monolith by yourself." Nat pulled out a new arm from the briefcase, then looked at Rhodey. "Nice work, by the way. You kept the financial impact as low as possible, and the civilian injuries were minimal."

"Is that from you, Pepper, or your other boss?" Rhodey asked her.

"Me." Nat didn't think about the 'other boss'. That was… in pieces. She knew the core was moving toward a new establishment, the ones she could trust, but too many good agents were still vulnerable.

"Why you, when you were just so high profile?" Rhodey asked her as he walked her toward the armor cabinet the Iron Patriot stood inside of.

"Pepper asked. She knew I needed to be here; you needed an upgrade and repair, so it dovetailed." If her lead did not pan out, she would be able to get herself back on the other half of the round-trip ticket Pepper had provided. Natasha was thankful she had made a point to cultivate the CEO, so that Pepper guarded her secrets even from Hill.

"Alright, got that. Still kind of curious, but it's need to know, right?" He palmed the sensor, looked into another one, and the cabinet opened, showing her his armor with its nearly crushed forearm. "Does it need to be booted?"

"Not until I make the attachment. Tony suggested you not be in it at that point; I don't think he trusts my technical skills." She set the arm on the table nearest the suit, retrieved her tools from the case, and settled into the task. If he stayed, she would not blame him. Right now, however, Nat was willing to provisionally trust him because Tony did. That was a concept she was still savoring in the back of her mind. Everyone, even Tony, had a small amount of paranoia attached, but unless it was a push-come-to-shove moment, she was operating at a higher level of trust than she ever had.

She wished she could discuss that with Coulson. Wishes, however, would get her nowhere.

It didn't take that long for her to get the arm attached, and she stepped back to let Rhodey come and take a look. "I believe Tony preloaded some software upgrades through the arm piece's independent CPU, which is may be the real reason he suggested not being inside it to run the diagnostics," she told him.

"That would be just like him." The officer set down the tablet he had been using to work on his own augmentations he wanted Tony to consider. Following the science of the suit was always a worthwhile pursuit to keep his own mental facilities sharp; Tony was damn good, but he liked to have some colleagues that could try to keep up with him. He unlocked the remote device for accessing the suit's diagnostic program and started logging in. The part of his brain that didn't want to trust a spy was actually relieved she didn't try to leave before he ran through this part of the maintenance.

Iron Patriot came online easily enough, with the remote giving him a quick image of Tony mocking him as the suit integrated the new hardware and software changes. Rhodey managed not to roll his eyes, but he was going to have to get out and see his buddy soon, just to knock him down a peg or two. After two cycles of diagnostics, Rhodey was convinced she knew her stuff, and looked back at Nat.

"Good work."

"Plug and play, really, as long as you have the right codes." She started packing up her gear. 

Rhodey looked her way, then went out on a limb. This woman had helped save New York after all. "You said you needed to be here anyway. I know you're used to working from the shadows, but that's a little rough right now. Anything I, as a civilian, can do to help you out? Tony trusts you, so …." He left it open-ended, to see which way she jumped.

She gave him a long, discerning look. "I'm here to meet someone.. Someone that might be very useful to any future alien invasions being stopped. But if she's keeping a low profile on purpose, it might cut across your day job to help me," she said bluntly. "I was chosen as the one to contact her in hopes that I can convince her the secret will remain hers, unless she chooses otherwise."

Rhodey turned that over in his head. Whomever Nat was looking for posed a potential security threat, then, if she was Avenger level material. Yet, if Rhodey betrayed Tony's trust by asking to follow through and help only to turn the person over, that was a very lucrative alliance and friendship down the drain.

"I didn't let on that my best friend was illegally in a no-fly zone with my superior right beside me," Rhodey told her, choosing to at least know, even if he never told his superiors. "I'd rather know, and help this woman out if she pulls some kind of stunt like that in the future."

Nat took another moment, then opted to trust in his discretion. "The military is aware that she may potentially be a risk, but so far she has not displayed anything to betray her abilities overtly. A recent clean up in a bad neighborhood confirmed to myself and a handful of others who are still watching that she is actively enhanced."

Rhodey's skin prickled; this sounded vaguely familiar. A black-box project gone awry had given the world the Hulk, but there had been whispers of other 'accidents'.

"What's her name?"

"Carol Danvers."

Rhodey stared at her; he knew of the woman, had even met her a couple of times. Pretty face, hotshot at everything she tried, and more than enough willpower to back it up. Now it sounded like she had powers too?

"Natalie, I will be glad to find out where she is, and introduce you. She's got a hell of a rep."

Nat just smiled. Pepper had been right; Rhodey was a good man where it counted. This would ease things, if any of Nat's intel panned out on the woman. And the world would be able to breathe easier during the next invasion.


End file.
